Harvest Moon: Tale through new worlds
by JinXedNeko
Summary: Liam is a huge Harvest Moon fan. His all time favorite game hands down would be Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. He decides it's time to relive his childhood and play through the game. But what he doesn't expect is to deal with a virus who has been waiting a little too long for his return.
1. Chapter 1

The village was quiet. All too silent, no birds were chirping as they had left to escape the approaching cold. The leaves, or what had remained clinging on the low branches of the trees rustled in the wind but created such little sound that the human ear was unable to pick up on their quiet chattering. Misshapen clouds moved across the sky at the pace of a turtle and occasionally blocked a small round light which sat just below the horizon. It was the perfect scene, like a painting, life was still and waves of calming tides touched the hearts of the citizens.

But it was not perfect in Forget Me Not Valley. No. Things were not good, not at all. The world was ultimately at a stand still. Muku paced the forest. As of late no new farmers had come, hell even save files weren't loaded. The town's folk never noticed because well, that's how they were programmed. They were given false thoughts and memories and only acted based off a coding. For all they knew, it was just a normal day in Forget Me Not Valley and the farmer was simply slaving away to his fields. Muku gazed across the stream. Carter was doing his usual yoga stretches. While Flora was talking to a small raccoon.

The small brown animal stared back towards Muku. It's soulless eyes gazed longingly at it's master. Flora looked up and gazed in Muku's direction. However all her bright eyes could see were toy flowers and trees. And Muku planned to keep it that way. "Are you hungry?" The blonde digger asked her little friend. The raccoon made no move to respond. "Hm...maybe I could try getting some fish for you?"

Muku side stepped away from raccoon's line of sight, and turned back into the forest. He stepped towards a small pond and took a seat. The calming ripples of the spring made him feel calm like everything was going to be alright. And everything would be...if someone would play the damn game. He had one job, and that was to keep everything in line. How was he supposed to do his job if there was no reason for it, no purpose?

The character crossed his legs. His left hand held his chin as he leaned foreword. How could he get players? He need something. Something that would gain popularity in the way that the game used to. If he could make a subtle but noticeable change to the game, then surely people would come flooding in. But what?

Muku had changed things before in the game. As its popularity declined he decided to give the characters more spice. Sebastian, and Takakura were both given short backstories to keep the player interested if they stuck around long enough and payed close attention to small details, he even added a talking plant. That was the real kicker.

Tartan was the real game changer. Was. Now, he just simply chats up a storm, and Muku would rather throw it into the seed maker and be done with it. But because the two headed plant was considered an actual character Muku could do nothing about it.

"Hurry." A small voice shouted. Muku leaned back. He stared down the forest towards a large tree. A small door which had been carved with much care opened to reveal his favourite little sprites. Nak pushed through the door. His red had nearly fell off at the speed he was running.

Next followed Flak, who had no trouble keeping up with his brother but still fell short due to his...ahem weight. Then came Nic. The short blue elf nearly tripped on his long coat but still managed to keep his balance.

Muku stood. He noted the changing colour of the leaves. It was spring. But he didn't set it to that season. A familiar breeze blew through his messy white hair. It was cool but closer to the warm side. Muku crossed his arms. Nak simply ignored his presence and pushed foreword. Flak however was much more kinder and chose to stop.

"What's going on?" Muku questioned. His voice laced with authority. Nic bumped into Flak. His body tipped back and his arms waved in the air, before he finally fell onto his back.

"There's a new harvest spirit." Flak replied. He turned to help his younger sibling up.

Muku raised a brow. "There's only three of you. There's always been."

"No, No. There's a new farmer." Nic shouted. His tiny body was shaking in excitement. Muku nearly did a back flip. A new farmer? Ah, they must mean a new player. He never understood why the three called the player a harvest sprite. He didn't program them to...oh well.

He watched as the three brothers ran through the forest pathway. Slowly he followed, but was sure to keep himself out of sight. It was too early to reveal himself. He'd have to wait three seasons.

Muku watched from the safety of the trees as Takakura ran through his usual script while a familiar brown haired youth nodded his head. Which was soon followed by the sprites small greetings.

Muku was surprised. No one had played the game in years. He could practically feel the dust forming on the consuls. And yet here they were, someone actually playing his game. Must be a nostalgia run of some sort. He'd seen a few of those. But not for a while.

Muku felt his chest tighten. Nostalgia runs didn't last long, as the player had been through the game countless times and knew all of the game's 'secrets.' Not all but most. If he wasn't careful, Muku would soon return to a quiet and boring silence. He would not return to that silence. He had worked too hard to get into this game. And there was no way he was going to be stuck here with no players. "Maybe it's not something i'm missing…..but someone."


	2. Chapter 2

Liam had taken his sister's car to school that day. He was sure Alex wouldn't mind. Or at least wouldn't have minded enough to take the journey just get the black Saturn back. His headphone covered his ears and glistened in the sun's warmth, he listened to the heavy beating of the base drum along with the screaming reverb (which was part of the reason he was hard of hearing) and tapped his fingers against the wheel.

His phone buzzed. He was sure Alex had now noticed her missing vehicle. As she would have wished to travel to town and buy new clothes, meet some friends, or even chat up a storm with her 'boyfriend' hot blonde guy from Starbucks. His younger sister had insisted he was totally checking her out, it was only a matter of time until they'd be married and riding off into the sunset on a white horse. Either way Liam didn't care.

The Saturn turned into a busy parking lot. Liam pressed himself against the leather seat as he parked next to a white truck. He noticed a large group of large males surrounding the truck's door. Jocks. The teens jostled against one another and shouted muffled words, probably mocking jokes into the window. Whoever was inside wasn't going to get out. They wouldn't have been able to get inside. As even the most popular boys had standards. Some part of him wanted to roll down the window and cuss at the group, but his seat belt glued him stiff.

The group left the scene. Liam released the breath he was holding. He loosened his grip and allowed his knuckles to regain some of their tan colour. Liam propped open the door and left the safety of his sister's car. His black backpack gripped his shoulder as he sauntered away.

Behind him the door to the white truck opened. Nicholas Jones cautiously examined his surroundings. If anything he looked like a frightened puppy, the way his shoulders pressed against the veins of his neck and his unnaturally white bangs covered his eyes.

Nicholas was only a few minutes older than Liam according to his sister. He was also an inch taller, but appeared shorter because of the way his shoulder hunched together. He was reserved, quiet. He was also quite smart when it came to computers. They'd talked only on a few occasions. Usually along the lines of video games. Liam wasn't too sure how they reached that topic. As he was sure he was asking how to pass the dreaded block screen.

In the end it didn't matter. The two laughed, talked about all kinds of games. But that all changed when Liam mentioned his love for the Harvest Moon franchise. Nicholas was ecstatic. He loved farms and animals, particularly chickens for some reason. Both boy's shared a healthy interest with Celia from A Wonderful Life. Liam had told him how she was the only bachelorette he had ever married, and their son had grown to be a farmer like his father. Nicholas replied with a simple "I haven't reached the point in the game yet.

Now that was simply unheard of.

When the school day rolled to a stop, Liam opened the door to the white truck. Nicholas slid in beside him and turned on the ignition. Liam couldn't see the Saturn. (Alex had picked it up halfway through the school day) The two sat in silence as they the comfort of the city and drove to Nicholas's house.

Nicholas's house was eerie quiet, with it being in the middle of nowhere and all. No one came to greet them as they stepped inside. The cat was too far into wonderland to even twitch as the door slammed shut.

"Hold on a sec." Nicholas mumbled and ran down a heavy set of stairs. Liam waited with his hands in his pockets. The earphone in his left ear blasted incoherent screaming. A picture frame sat alone in the corner. Baby Nicholas sat as still as stone as his parents held him close. Liam smiled at the picture. Nicholas didn't return the cheeky grin.

Liam handed his beloved treasures to Nicholas and fell into a large wooden chair awkwardly as the tech worked his magic. It felt strange, being in such as silent house. He was so used to his sister's constant whining that he didn't know what quiet was until now. The older boy leaned back as the screen showed a small silver cube rotating clockwise.

"Do you want to play first." Nicholas asked.

"What?" Liam didn't hear him.

"I said, do you want to play first?"

"Uh...sure?" Liam reached foreword snatching the controller from the clutches of the hardwood floor.

"So uh, what do you want to name our character?" Nicholas shrugged. Liam stared back at the screen. "Alright how about…UrMum"

"UrMum?"

"Sure. You said it didn't matter."

"I didn't say that."

"Exactly, you didn't say anything leaving the naming to me." Liam pressed the A button and watched as Takakura replied with "UrMum I see."

Nicholas mumbled under his breath.  
"Hey man it could have been worse. I was about to name our character mydick."

The boys managed to finish spring and begin summer. Liam stood up, stretched his back, sat back down. He unlocked his phone to see a total of ten texts and one missed call.

Received October 7th, 12:00 pm

'Liam wtf why did u steal my car!'

Received October 7th 2:59 pm

'Bro seriously, i'm like really mad rn :(

Received October 7th 5:00 pm

'Dad's home. Better get ur butt back before he has a fit

Received October 7th 5:20 pm

'Seriously bro dad's suuuuper mad'

Received October 7th 5:59 pm

'He's making me call you. Where r u?

Received October 7th 6:30 pm

'K seriously wtf man, where u at?'

Received October 7th 7:00 pm

'Liam?'

Received October 7th 7:01 pm

'Mom's home btw

Received October 7th 7:02 pm

'?'

Received October 7th 7:03 pm

'Ur scaring me. This isn't funny :('

Sent October 7th 7:04 pm

'Sorry Al, I was too caught up in a game XD'

Received October 7th 7:04 pm

'Wth. u scared me half to death'

Sent October 7th 7:05 pm

'Lol'

Received October 7th 7:05 pm

'Laugh while u still can. Dad said ur grounded.

Sent October 7th 7:06 pm

'0_o seriously?'

Received October 7th 7:08 pm

'Yep :P'

Sent October 7th 7:09 pm

'Heading home now, should be back in an hour.'

Nicholas unplugged the GameCube. Liam placed the console carefully inside his bag. Both boys climbed up the stairs. Liam went over to the front door as Nicholas went to find the keys. He jiggled the lock. But felt something pushing the door shut. He tugged at the knob. No luck.

Nicholas approached the door. His blue eyes watched Liam curiously. The unnatural looking teen pulled at the door.

Snow was heavily piling up against the windows and doors of the house. Liam checked his battery to see he still had thirty percent left. He sent a quick text before he shut off his phone. No point in wasting the battery.

Out of all the six rooms in the house, Liam was forced to sleep in the basement. The only real sense of comfort he had was the white screen of the old TV that he had played on a few hours ago. Not like it could save him from a crazy killer. Nicholas choose to sleep upstairs on the couch. He felt more comfortable by himself then he did in close proximity to a well known acquaintance. Liam shivered. He figured Nicholis was so used to being alone, that it gave him the same amount of comfort Liam would have felt it they shared a room together.

Liam drifted in and out of sleep. Until finally he drifted off long enough to hear an inaudible voice call from his dreams, it didn't take him long to realize that the voice wasn't created from his subconscious but in fact came from the room he was in. That's it. He was going to die. Liam shook and tossed to his side. Fear shrouded his mind. His breath echoed. He opened his eyes. Up Ahead was his only company. The tv and his beloved GameCube.

The game had been turned on at some point. Liam was not sure when or how it happened. He sat up. His hands clutched the controller. His thumb pressed the A button. UrMum had been giving a strange tablet to Van. He wasn't sure when UrMum had found the tablet. It was strange to say the least.

Liam frowned. He then propped himself on his elbows and covered his legs with the thin quilt offered to him oh so kindly by Nicolas. He sent UMum back to the farm. Nothing was out of place. Except that his dog Link was missing as well as Nicholas's beloved cow Bessy. Liam's frown deepend. After a while, Liam decided to call it a night. Or day? He wasn't sure what time it was, as there were no clocks in the room with him. In truth he was still freaked out beyond the possibility of sleep. However he felt that turning the game off would give him a false sense of security. He reached for the power button. But was cut off by a sudden white screen.

Liam watched shocked, as UrMum walked towards the spring. The harvest sprites moved to stand next to him. Nak stared down into the lake.

"Today is the day we test if the harvest Goddess will come to the spring."

"If we worked hard enough. Then i'm sure she'll come." Flak continued cutely jumping up and down.

Liam just stared. He tilted his head. He didn't remember this scene at all during the game. Was it a glitch? Liam jerked back as the screen turned white again.

A small text box appeared in the middle of the screen. "My, you've certainly collected a lot of nices. But i'm afraid the harvest goddess has disappeared."

"What the hell?" Liam muttered. This was not normal.

He nearly passed out as a slight scream cracked the audio.

"We need your help." The box continued. "The harvest goddess needs a special kind of nice in order to keep Forget-Me-Not Valley alive. Will you help me?"

A small box appeared in the middle of the screen. On it two simple answers. Yes, or no. Liam felt a weight right above his chest. If he said yes, the game would progress. But would that be a good thing? Liam sent a glance up the stairs. It wouldn't hurt to see what would happen would it? After all he could easily replay the cut scene with Nicholas later.

Liam slowly moved the arrow to yes. He held his breath as he pressed the A button. Liam furrowed his brow. Nothing happened. In truth he was hoping for something to happen.

He waited a few seconds. Nothing again.

Finally, after checking the game disc he went back to sleep. As he stared at the screen, a faint shuffling sound seemed to come from somewhere in the room. Was the cat hanging around somewhere in the room? Or maybe...a ghost? Liam stood up, and wrapped the blanket over his shoulders. His steps echoed as he took flight up the stairs.

Nicholas shifted on the couch. Liam opened the door to see Nicholas glaring at him.

"What?"

"Don't what me! What were you doing down there?"

"Sleeping."

Nicholas huffed. "Sure, do you always sound like a herd of elephants when you sleep?"

"No? I thought….never the walls not sound proof here?"

"Of course they are. Ju-"

Both boys jumped at the sound of another crash downstairs. Nicholas frowned. He then kicked the blanket and pressed his the soles of his feet into the hardwood.

The second their eyes locked Liam found himself turning away. After a few seconds Nicholas was gone. His pale skin faded into the darkness as he descended into the embrace of the basement.

Liam leaned back into the fabric of the couch. Hesitantly, he began biting at his nails. A rather bad habit. As he stared into the darkness, he could hear the muffled yell of Nicholas.

"Did you play the game without me?!"

Liam examined a small cut on his hands (which was made from the puncture of his front teeth)

"Maybe." He called back. "It doesn't matter, I think the game's broken."

Nicholas paused at the screen. "Did you break the TV? Or the game.?

No reply.

"Liam?" He called once again. Nicholas ran a hand through his hair. He probably passed out.

Nothing Nicholas shouted reached Liam's ears. He felt nature calling him.

The cool water from the tap sent shivers down Liam's spine. He felt his body and mind become more aware as the groggy fog in his mind cleared. He leaned against the sink, staring at the large bangs just below his eyes.

Knock Knock.

Liam wiped his hands against the fabric of his jeans. As the bathroom seemed to lack towels. "One second."

Knock...Knock….Knock.

Damn, Nicholas must have really had to take a leak. "Hold on."

Liam reached for the handle.

"KnockKnockKnockKnockKnock….Bang.

Liam let out a very manly shriek as the bathroom door rattled. It sounded like a moose had just ran head first into the door. He pulled the door open.

"Jesus man...you don't have to….to…."

Liam felt his heartbeat against his ears. His eyes bulged at...not Nicholas. A teen stood casually in front of the bathroom. His hair resembled Nicholas's, in colour but not in style. The stranger's hair stuck up on every end from tip until being covered by a matching hat with two beady brown eyes and a pink nose. His clothes were strange. As they appeared to be made out of white

Fur. His shirt never reached passed his stomach, just as his shorts never reached his feet.

The strangers skin was tanned. He must have spent a good amount of time in the sun. Liam couldn't help but stare at the strange tattoos that danced across his arms and stomach.

Liam shook of his daze."Um….are you Nicholas's brother?" The man tilted his head to the side. Allowing a rather long bang to cover one of his bright green eyes. "Sorry man. I'll uh...let you use the bathroom." Both stood still.

The male smiled. Both stood awkwardly waiting for the other to act.


	3. Chapter 3

"God, that was weird.." Liam mumbled. He plopped his body onto the couch rubbing his chilled hands together ( a nervous habit of his.)

Nicholas shut the tv off. "I agree, it is weird how you managed to break not only the tv but the gamecube as well. Heh maybe the rumors are true about you being a total airhead?"

"Hey man it wasn't my fault. Besides…." Liam glared towards the other boy. "The game cube is clearly working. I mean why else is it still on?"

Nicholas shifted from one foot to the other. After all Liam had a point. "I guess you have a point. Except the gamecube won't turn off."

"That just means it's frozen." Liam stood up from his comfortable spot and made way towards the tv. "you just gotta unplug it." he slowly reached towards the cable. However, his hand never made contact. Liams skin was stone cold. That much was true, seeing as the basement lacked much of a heater and that the storm outside was only raging harder. But the amount of heat radiating from the console felt burning. Almost as if the cord was on fire.

"Uhh, on second thought, you unplug it."

"What?! Why me? It's your gamecube."

Liam held his hands up in defence. "If you want to burn your hands go right on ahead."

"Your such a wuss. Here." Nicholas shoved past the other teen. At this point he was ready to just go curl up in his bed and be done with this.

The whole scene should have been anticlimactic. The cord should have been removed from the socket. They should have gone back to bed with so little as an exchange of good nights. They should have woken up in the early morning for the snow to have cleared allowing Liam to finally return home and for Nicholas to finish his biology project. What should have been an uneventful night was thrown away by the cruel hands of fate.

Nicholas wanted to scream. The electricity rushing through the cord latched onto his fingers the second they touched it. He felt his heart speed up from a sudden shock. The world around him seemed to blur and the few seconds before he released his grip seemed to fade in with the scenery. He felt as his body fell to the floor.

Liam rushed to his acquaintances aid. He stumbled up the stairs with the weight of the other teen. He was honestly surprised to have made it to the bathroom without dropping him more than five times. He immediately turned the tap on (making sure to set the water to cold) and shoved the other's hand under the running water.

Nicholas reacted quickly. His elbow connected to Liam's shoved him back against the wall.

"What the hell man?"

"I should be asking you that! That hurt!"

Liam scoffed. "Of course it hurt, you burned your hand."

Nickolas shut his mouth as he twisted the tap off.

"I can see you're mad. Do you want me to go get your brother or something?" At the mention of his sibling Nickolas froze.

"My brother? Liam, my brother has been away at school for over a year."

"No….I just saw him five minutes ago." Liam drawled. "He's very creepy by the way."

"That's impossible…." Nickolas trailed off. His mind was seriously a wreck right now.

"Wait. What do you mean just saw him?"

"Exactly what I said. He was standing right outside the door waiting to use the bathroom."

"You idiot!" Nickolas screamed. His hands pushed Liam back as he shut the door with a loud thud. "Why didn't you tell me someone broke into my house!?"

If he wasn't already so deathly pale, his skin would have been as white as a sheet.

"Wait, what?" Liam shouted back as his body shivered. "Are you absolutely sure it wasn't your brother? Or some distant relative that you forgot was spending the night?"

"I would definatly know if someone else was staying at my house. Look, that's not important right now. We need to call the police, do you still have your phone?."

"Yeah."

Liam could only cry out in frustration at the sight of his phone, maybe his only lifeline, completely dead.

"Ok new plan. We're going to need to get to my home phone. If we're lucky the 'creepy man' will be somewhere else other than the kitchen, and our path to the kitchen." Nicholas reached under the cupboards. "I don't think we have any sharp objects in here...or anything that is remotely heavy enough to do some damage so I guess we're improvising."

Liam reached for the toilet plunger. Not exactly a sword but it would have to work. Nicholas however was unable to find anything remotely useful. In the end it was a matter of brains and brawns versus some creepy, most likely heavily armed threat.

Both boys carefully stepped out from their haven. Nicholas moved fist. He slowly stepped further into the hall. His eyes scanned all open areas as his ears attempted to pick out any noise other than the drumming of his beating heart. He motioned for Liam to follow.

So far so good.

The two slowly reached the kitchen. Much to Liam's dismay the kitchen door had been shut tightly. Something he would see as very strange. Why keep such a vital and lively room so shut off from the world. In his moment of panic he imagined his own kitchen. Thriving with life.

He imagined his mother sweeping the floor humming an old toon from her youth while his father tapped his pen to the rhythm as he took a sip of his coffee mixed with barley. His sister would be ranting about some hot guy, or about something Liam probably did but would deny with a very well thought out lie. Unless it was just the fear talking, Liam felt very home sick and couldn't wait to return home.

Liam watched as Nicholas turned the knob. He ready his weapon.

The door opened. Both boys wanted to scream. The strange man sat at the kitchen table with the blankest stare Liam had ever seen in his life. To be quite honest, he thought the man was dead.

Nicholas was the first to react. "W-what are you doing in my house?"

Liam felt any confidence he had left drift away with the sound of Nicholas's shaky voice.

They were screwed.

The strange man blinked. His white hair drifted to cover his eyes. He moved it, revealing what might have been meant as a happy look. When it looked far more sinister.

"Muuuufah!"

Both Liam and Nicholas screamed. Liam did the second thing that came to mind. He threw his weapon towards the intruder. Who caught it with ease.

"Sweet Jesus run!" Nicholas shouted. He easily pushed past Liam and bolted back towards the bathroom. Both Liam and the stranger followed.

Liam was ready to pass out when Nicholas shut the door locking it. Instead he raced down the stairs. The man was close behind. Liam could feel his breath on the back of his neck as he landed at a dead end. He turned to face the man and held up his hands.

"If you're looking for money I don't have any ok?"

The man stepped closer. As he stepped closer his skin would shift slightly in color. His soulless eyes started Liam down. Liam took a cautious step back. He feared the moment his back his the television.

The man seemed to cover Liam's entire body. Liam started up at the man. "I'm serious. I don't have any goods. If you just let me-" The man silently cut him off. His hand caught Liams in a vice like grip. To Liam's horror, the man tauntingly moved Liam's hand towards the GameCube.

Liam screamed as he felt his hand touch the heated cord. The shock sent his body into extreme pain leaving him only a few seconds the watch as the world he knew faded to black.


End file.
